Imperial Assassin Read Online Free Page A

measures. When he had finished pouring, he wiped the neck of the decanter clean with a
pristine white cloth before replacing the stopper and putting it back in the cabinet. The old Lord handed one of the glasses to his friend and returned to his armchair. For a moment they sat in
silence again, gently sipping at the wine.
    ‘Have you any idea what Danar was actually doing in Thrandor?’ Tremarle asked quietly. ‘He came to me with some foolish story about him being sent as an Ambassador. There
wasn’t an ambassadorial bone in my son’s body. He was a playboy with little sense of responsibility. I know he was concealing something, but I don’t know what.’
    Lacedian shook his head. ‘I don’t know,’ he said slowly. ‘But he gave you that warning just before he left, didn’t he? Surabar had found out about your involvement
in plotting against him and displayed that awareness through Danar.’
    ‘That’s right.’
    ‘Well, my guess is that Surabar was probably blackmailing him into doing something dangerous. If I were to theorise, I would say he was sent as a spy into the Thrandorian capital. There
have been several message riders from Thrandor over the past few months. Surabar gave no reason to the Court for his sudden visit to Mantor. There are those who are saying he’s in league with
the southerners. A General he may have been, but it looks like he’s lost his taste for military action. He’s made it plain that he intends no strikes against Thrandor despite their
slaughtering of our people.’
    Tremarle considered Lacedian’s words for a moment. He suspected that his friend was not far from the truth with the blackmail theory. Emperor Surabar had no noble blood in his veins. It
was only natural that he would utilise gutter tactics to secure his followers. It was hard to imagine Surabar conspiring to ally with the Thrandorians, especially given that thousands of
Legionnaires had recently died at their hands in a bloody battle, but there was a perverse sort of logic about it. Maybe Lacedian was right about it all. Surabar did not have the unanimous support
of the nobility here in Shandar. Indeed, he had few friends among them. If he was to make his position as Emperor secure, he needed powerful allies. As he didn’t have them here, he could be
looking to the neighbouring countries to help him tighten his grip on the Mantle. Anger growled within Tremarle as he considered this. If Surabar was seeking powerful aid from outside Shandar, then
it made the need to get rid of him even more urgent.
    ‘It’s a good theory, Lacedian. It has a ring of truth about it. But how can we prove such things? It will not be easy.’
    ‘Do we need to? Dispose of Surabar and we gain both vengeance for Danar and an Emperor that the nobility can respect.’
    ‘Have the others united behind a single candidate then?’ Tremarle asked, his anger turning momentarily to surprise.
    ‘No, not yet, but the number of players is whittling down gradually. Pereth dropped out of the running yesterday. He finally realised that he didn’t have the backing enjoyed by the
others.’
    ‘So, there are what – four left? Five?’
    ‘Four. Nobody takes Miranthel seriously.’
    ‘Well, they’d better hurry up and decide,’ Tremarle rumbled, his tone ominous as his anger returned. ‘They haven’t much time. Find me an assassin, Lacedian. I want
to place a contract on Surabar. The Guild of Assassins will not touch a contract on the Emperor. Their creed will not allow it. But someone will take up the mark. There’s always someone
willing to kill if the reward is great enough.’
    The circular hall was dim, lit only by the torches mounted in brackets around the walls. Shadows danced and flickered in the niches and alcoves, tormenting the vision of any
who were unfamiliar with the vagaries of the chamber. It was a strange place. Secret. So much so that one could be forgiven for sensing paranoia in its design.
    The central floor